Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly filed a lawsuit against the state’s legislature after her ban on religious gatherings during the coronavirus outbreak was overturned.
On Wednesday, the seven-member Legislative Coordinating Council voted to strike down Kelly’s executive order, which included churches in the statewide ban on gatherings of more than 10 people. On Thursday, Kelly announced a lawsuit against the council and argued that the full legislature, not the council, must vote to overturn the executive order.
Kelly, a Democrat, argued that the Legislative Coordinating Council did not have the authority to overturn her order during an emergency because it is only a seven-member hybrid council, featuring members of both the house and senate. She claimed the small group, which voted along party lines, could not overrule her order.
“The last thing I want right now is a legal battle,” Kelly said while announcing the lawsuit. “But as I said yesterday, Kansas lives are on the line, and I took an oath to uphold and defend the constitution.”
The council was formed one month ago via a resolution allowing the small group to review Kelly’s executive orders during the declared emergency. Kelly also argued that the council also didn’t have authority because it was created under a resolution rather than a law.
In response to Kelly’s lawsuit, several top Republicans said they agree that Kansans should stay home from church gatherings during Holy Week, but said they do not want to see people punished for going to church.
“But, this is where we disagree: Kansans should not be arrested for practicing their faith,” the Republicans wrote.
They added, “Despite repeated attempts to solve this problem and create a constitutional order, the Governor has opted to create confusion and tie this issue up in the courts. We take seriously our obligation to protect people’s lives during this pandemic, and we know that the Governor does too.”
Kelly asked the Kansas Supreme Court to strike down the council’s ruling and bar it from making any judgments on her future executive orders during the pandemic.
As of Thursday, Kansas had more than 1,100 confirmed cases of the coronavirus and 42 related deaths. Three of the 12 clusters of outbreaks in the state were traced back to a religious service.
